Education and social status in an African society: the Igbo example

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Periodical article

Title:	Education and social status in an African society: the Igbo example
Author:	Ekechi, Felix K.
Year:	1980
Periodical:	Umoja: a scholarly journal of Black Studies
Volume:	4
Issue:	3
Pages:	17-33
Language:	English
Geographic term:	Nigeria
Subjects:	social change Igbo education
Abstract:	This article discusses the impact of education as a critical factor in social change. Although mention is made of the formation of the educated Igbo elite in a generalized manner, the primary purpose of the paper is threefold: First, the author wishes to provide a systematic analysis of the socio-economic convergences that provided the stimulus for the acceptance of formal education. Secondly, he wishes to show how traditional Igbo authority systems were eroded by Western education and colonialism. In conclusion, he argues that, despite social disruptions in and cultural jolts to the society, and despite what has been said about Igbo receptivity to change, the Igbo people are as tradition-minded as many of their Nigerian and African neighbours. Notes.